Sheffield Wednesday: Goal ace Sougou salutes Owls’ medical marvels

Dom Howson

Modou Sougou has paid tribute to Wednesday’s medical staff after his goalscoring return at Blackburn Rovers.

The former Marseille winger missed six Championship fixtures due to a shoulder problem he sustained away to Queens Park Rangers last month.

But Sougou made his comeback in Lancashire, claiming his third goal in Owls colours in their 2-2 draw at Ewood Park.

The 30-year-old, one of two changes, said: “I was happy because the medical staff helped me so much with my injury. I was thinking I would be out for longer, but I was lucky to come back a little bit early. I was delighted to have the opportunity to play and when I scored it was good.”

Sougou was taken to hospital after hurting his shoulder trying to skip over Clint Hill’s last-ditch challenge.

“It was difficult for me,” he said. “I had problems to breathe and it was a little bit scary. But the medical staff have helped me a lot to come back quickly.”

Head coach Carlos Carvalhal called for 11 gladiators but Wednesday struggled to impose their will, especially in the first half of Paul Lambert’s first home match.

Sougou said: “It was a difficult game but the team showed that we have good spirit and we fought hard.

“We gave two goals away from set-pieces but I thought we did well in the second half. We had opportunities in the second half to win the game but we are happy with the draw.

“We are happy but I think we can do better.”

Sougou, a free-transfer capture, sees no reason why Wednesday can’t cause an upset in their Capital One Cup quarter-final clash with Stoke City on Tuesday.

“We don’t have anything to lose,” he insisted. “We know they are a big team but we can achieve something good.”